Motherhood...

almost four years later.

Now that my babies are (almost), no longer considered toddlers, I find that I finally have more time for myself.
Even though we do a lot of fun things together, I am often able to enjoy an hour or two, here and there to craft, read, put my feet up and enjoy a movie on my own. Time really is a luxury when you think about it.

Before, I had to convince myself that taking time off "parenting" was not a selfish thing. I had to make time for myself, and occasionally was "kicked out" of my house, by a loving husband, to take that time a mother so needs and deserves.

Today, although our days are still, somewhat busy crazy, I can enjoy long breaks to ponder, enjoy and embrace the time I get to spend with my sons. I feel bless to see my children grow, and being the first person to witness all the milestones they are reaching so far. I know I won't always be that person, so for as long as I am, I feel, and know it to be a wonderful privilege.

I am aware that some mothers have to work and I honestly wish, at times, that I could be out and have a career, some kind of a "social" life. I do admire these working mothers for the great sacrifice they make, because, it surely cannot be easy for them to do so. Some of the greatest role models I have in my life are mothers that, for a reason or another, worked outside the house. They were, are wonderful example of strength, and undeniably care(d) and love(d) their children as much as I am loving mine.

I love being a mother! It drives me insane sometimes but at the end of the day, when all is well, I cannot imagine not being a mother. I will dread/hate the crazy, insane moments, and love the happy, normal moments.

Having gain all that "free" time doesn't necessarily mean that being a mother nowadays has become easy, stress free, drama/tantrum free, etc... But it definitely feels great to have some time for yourself.

One thing I truly enjoy as a mother, is the impact my boys have on me. They have the ability to make me want to better myself in different aspects of my life. They often encourage or gently push me to create, to learn, cultivate "talents" I often forget I have. They truly make me want to be my best. I dislike baking, but for them I will always make an effort to bake. Not because I feel like I need to but just because I truly want to do it for them. Halloween is not my favorite thing, but I will make an effort for them, because I want to and not because I have to.

One thing I wish wouldn't happen is for a mother to be sick, either at the same time than her kids, or before her kids or EVER. This past couple days I have been really sick, and man is it ever a challenge to take care of your babies when you can barely take care of yourself. Mothers really shouldn't be allowed to get sick.

Here is one of my favorite quote from Elder M. Russell Ballard:

Thrift shopping and crafting!

I know I have mentioned it in my previous posts, but I have a thing for thrift shopping lately. I am not quite a junkie yet, but I sure enjoy the thrill I get from finding items that I can use, re-purpose or turn into a craft project.

Thrift shopping can be a lot of fun, especially if you are looking for specific things or have a creative mind and can see potential in the many things that the store has to offer. If like me you collect nativity scenes, well this year I was blessed to find a few cute ones in my new favorite place. I found great books for my boys, and for myself as well ( I am 2 books short of having the complete Little house on the prairie collection, and a lot of them looked like they have never been opened).

NOT everything in a thrift store is worth buying that's for sure but it is so nice to find "treasures" that cost you so little.

So here are a few things I did using my thrifty finds:

I found a big chunk of green felt for $1 and finally made a Christmas tree felt for the little ones.

I did add a brown piece of felt to make the tree's trunk.

I bought a natural, and bare grapevine wreath for .50 cents, a heart shape wreath with bright red pip berries for .50 cents also and a Christmas ornament for a buck and made a little wreath that I cannot wait to hang in our window when winter comes. I took all the pip berries off the heart shape wreath for future projects, and am currently working on that now bare heart shape wreath.

I am debating whether or not to add a mini banner with the word Noel on.

Yann has been quite animate about the fact that this year we have to leave some cookies for Santa in a plate, so for .50 cents I got a plate at my go to store and made Santa his own special plate using sharpies to write on.

Not perfect but cute, I think anyway.

I made this sign with a frame I got for .50 cents. The rest are just scrapbook papers I had and I made the felt flowers. Found the B at Michael's for $1.50 :)

It's simple but I like it that way!

For our anniversary, I used a couple of glass ornaments that I filled up to give to my hubby for our 13 years together. Both ornaments cost me $1.

The little bear represents my love and Canada,
and of course the sand and shells represent me and my Tahiti!

Our sons!

Last but not least, some costumes/dress up clothes. It cost me the most money. I didn't want to use clothes I bought brand new for the boys, and alter them so I just got some at the thrift store and added to them.

Grey T-shirts for $1 and a fur scarf ($1 also) that I cut to make
a vest like thing for their viking costumes for Halloween.
Y already had the hat, and ax and we were lucky enough to find a second one for .50 cents for little M.

Found these brand new T-shirts for a buck each,
and glued some felt on that I later hand sewed on for durability.

Modeling his Mike the night tunic
with the cardboard shield and sword I made. The boys get 2 costumes each.

Family Home Evenings!

Marc and I used to struggle a lot with family home evening especially when there was only the two of us. When we became parents, we knew that we had to do better, and be better. We tried to make a go of it. Sometimes we did great, sometimes we failed greatly.

However, since we moved here, we have gotten better, and hold our F.H.E every Mondays without failing. It is so rewarding to finally be here. I always thought it would be a huge struggle for me because I didn't know how family home evening worked. I remember when I was an investigator, we went to our neighbors house and held our F.H.E there with the missionaries but it wasn't quite the same than what families do. We mostly just ate, and talk. Really, that's all we did!

I am grateful for Church magazines, for the wonderful women out there who share tips, cutouts, lessons and other free materials about what they do during their family home evening. I don't always use them but it is nice to know that they are there to help us.

One thing we do is, if the boys miss nursery for some reason, we teach them the nursery lesson they have missed that Sunday. The manual they are taught from is specifically tailored to them so it is fun, short, and easy to teach and have the boys attention. It teaches them about their Heavenly Father and Savior, and it reminds us that because they are still so young, we do not need to make family home evening a complicated thing. What matters is teaching our children the truths of the gospel in a way that is simple enough for them to understand. Family home evening doesn't need to be grand! "By small and simple things are great things brought to pass."

We don't always have a treat and that's okay. We sing a couple song at least. and ask the boys to offer prayers. F.H.E for us takes place right after supper, always.

Yesterday, a family from our ward invited us for supper and for family home evening so it was nice to do it with someone else and see how they do it.

I truly hope we continue on that way. I think we are doing good, finally! I love that my husband is involved, and enthusiastic about it, and always leads us all into the living room to start it.

I know I say it all the time, Life is great! 

Sundays!

We love our Sundays!
Although we tend to eat way too much on Sundays, for us that day is truly the most relaxing one of the week.

After Church, we have lunch then head out for a walk around the neighborhood, and let the children play at the playground until they are ready to go home. It is never the same playground, and we rarely miss our Sunday walk. If it is not too windy, we take a picnic basket and have lunch under the trees.

Once home, the boys either play or have a nap, and Marc and I get to enjoy each others company talking about anything that come through our heads and just having a good time together. The T.V is off most of the day, and occasionally we would watch a Church movie  or a family one. We read scriptures and always end it with a family prayer.

It is nice to stay at home, and not worry or busy ourselves with things we would normally do during the week.

We love our Sundays!!! When we come home from Church we make it a habit to ask, and talk with our children about the lesson they have learned in nursery, and asked them about the songs they sang so we can sing it with them. Sundays are the best!

Be as a little Child!

Last night, our big boy hurt his brother intentionally by closing the door on his hand. Yann was cranky, tired and refused to apologize when we asked him to do so. After some tears, and an order from us to go to his room, he finally turned to his brother and apologized. Little M gave him a big, loving hug in return.

As they both went to bed, I stayed, and observed them for quite a while. I was amazed at the lesson I was once again being taught by my two and a half year old as he comforted his brother who was still in tears. Little M lay down next to his brother, stroked his head telling him that he was okay, he didn't hurt anymore. He gave his brother a kiss and said "You are okay! I am here!" and preceded to give his brother another great hug. I was in awe!

I understand today more than ever the meaning of the saying,"Be as a little Child", that our leaders in the Church have been using in their talks for years.

How amazing children are! How great is their ability to forgive so sincerely and so easily when harm is done to them. How even greater is their ability to forget it all.
I am grateful for this opportunity that I had to be taught by my child. It couldn't have been more genuine than that, purer than that.

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, we had a quiet, fun thanksgiving. We didn't have turkey since my hubby and I are not big fan of the bird. Neither did we bother with making a pumpkin pie since we dislike that as well. Instead, Marc cooked a roast chicken in the oven. Our day started quite simply, with a quick stop to I.G.A, a tasty breakfast, and a walk at the park, where I gathered some leaves to make a nice centerpiece for our table.

Once home, I set our table. We played hide and seek with the boys, and other games then let them choose a movie to watch. We kept it pretty relax. We had so many things to be grateful for, so it was nice to be able to be together, and just count our blessings.

Our pumpkin center piece made by moi.

Mashed potatoes, steam broccoli, honey glazed carrots, salad,
roast chicken and apple pie.
(Not the traditional meal for sure. We like doing our own thing anyway!)

Delicious homemade apple pie, and whipped cream
made by my sweet hubby.

Our big boy!

Our little boy!

Tough cookie!

Father and son!

I need all the help I can get!

I had a few people complimenting me about all the fun stuffs I've been doing with my boys lately. And how good a mother I am.... well, I don't feel like a good mother if you ask me.

While I try to keep them busy and happy, I, sometimes, selfishly plan these fun things, to keep my sanity level to decent. I find that planning ahead what our day is going to be, helps ME a lot.
Of course it does make my babies happy, but let's be honest, it makes me equally happy. I have fun with them, we play together, we laugh when things go wrong, and just get excited when we really enjoy something.

As a mother, I need all the help I can get. If it means going on Pinterest from time to time, heck I'll go on Pinterest and lose sleep to find fun, easy things for us to do. But really all joking apart. I need help! Like any other mothers out there, I struggle.

Pictures on Facebook only show the fun we had, not the reason why this mamma of two is doing it. I do not struggle daily. Being a mom is not challenging every day but when it is, IT IS! I am bless to find time for myself during the day so I can plan ahead, relax, take a break, and do all the other stuffs that comes with being a mother, and a wife.

I was off of Pinterest for almost a year until my little monkeys started acting up. So I thought maybe we could do some of the things I pinned and give them a try just to see if it would help. It mostly does but kids are kids. They too, have their bad days. They are not immune to bad days. We all have them.

When I run out of pins to pin, I will find help somewhere else. We find help wherever we can, right?

ps: pics on Facebook are mostly for my family in Tahiti.

Independence and bunny milk!

This post is mostly about my big boy. This morning, he wanted to drink some "bunny milk" aka chocolate milk. I was sleeping, so he decided to prepare it himself.

Yann loves chocolate milk. A love he developed through his dad's almost addiction to it. When we are not buying chocolate milk, my hubby just makes his using the chocolate syrup in the bunny bottle and mix it with milk (bunny milk).

While I was sleeping, Yann went in the kitchen, grab the ingredients and his cup, and started making his favorite treat... However, something went wrong. While no bunny milk was made, a big puddle of milk was majestically waiting for me to come rescue him.

Although I applaud my son's independence on a daily basis, and encourage him to be an independent person, I cannot say I was doing a happy dance right at the moment I saw the "milky floor". I told him, that I was glad that he tried to do something for himself and by himself but there are times where he will need to ask me, his dad, or other people for help.

Even though I wasn't excited about cleaning, and yes I was upset about it. This incident was a great way for me to teach him about being able to rely on someone when he needs help. I was impressed that he actually tried to do some cleaning before I came.

Teaching my kids to be independent is important to me. BUT, I want them to learn to ask and rely on others when independence alone cannot always work. I want them to learn that when they need it, they can rely on our Father in Heaven to help them whenever they need it.

Both my boys are quite independent and I am glad they are.

Today was a frustrating, annoying day but as I think about it now that everyone is asleep, I am grateful for the bunny milk accident. It brought an opportunity for me to teach my son. I don't always see the lesson to teach during frustrating, upsetting times like this but I am sure glad when I do.

December 01st!

I cannot wait for December 01st to be here. Every year, my boys get one or two new Christmas tree ornaments from us. Some we make, some we buy. We usually get them something that reflect either a toy or a passion they had during the year. 

Last year, we got them a mater and Lightning McQueen ornaments. They were crazy about Cars (still are). We were going to turn their old Cars into ornaments but they weren't quite ready to let them go. So we ended up buying them.

This year, I am "making", for lack of a better word , 2 Baymax ornaments for them, since they are infatuated with this character. I really don't think make is quite appropriate here (see pic).

Found these white balls at the thrift store for 10 cents each.
All I did is use a sharpie to "make" Baymax face.

I also got them some hallmark ornaments (still in the box) at the thrift store. Another great find I tell you. Love thrift stores (especially the good ones). I thought they were cute and it has meaning for us since the boys have been learning to give their toys willingly to a great cause.

 

My goal in doing this, is to have a good collection of ornaments with meaning for our kids to take with them once they have a family of their own. It will be a great reminder for us, every time we take them out, to reminisce about those phases in our children's lives, where a certain toy brought lot of happiness to them than another. Making memories last!

Every ornaments they get are marked with their names and the date they got them.

Light in the dark!

After packing up our van with all of my Christmas supplies and more last night, we went for a drive around Lloyd. After debating about whether to leave that same day or early the next one, we decided to be crazy and left our home around 11 pm to come back to Taber. Yup, we're nuts like that sometimes.

The drive was quiet, and enjoyable! Marc and I had some good conversations, great laughs and a fun time teasing each other about our early years of marriage. I drove most of the way until my eyes started playing tricks on me then my hubby took the wheel from me (just before Vauxhall). 

At one point, Marc fell asleep. I looked around me and noticed the darkness that was surrounding us. We were all alone on the highway with only our high beams, low beams and driving lights shining the way ahead of us to guide us safely home. As we got closer to the few little towns bordering highway 36, I somewhat felt such comfort, and relief seeing the towns's many lights. It made me pondered about that comforting, and constant guidance I have in my life, the gospel. It has kept me away from a few dark places, and is such a shining, guiding beacon to me on how to live a more righteous life.  I am not much of a ponderer but how neat it was to find spirituality in such an ordinary thing like driving. I felt gratitude for this simple yet spiritual moment. It was a great start to this day filled with uplifting messages from our leaders during this Saturday's General Conference sessions.

What a beautiful Saturday it has been! How blessed we are to have inspiring leaders in the Church to teach us, to counsel us, and comfort us with words that we probably needed to hear. I am looking forward to tomorrow.

One last meal!

Yesterday, we spent a few hours in Vermilion so we can visit with grandma and grandpa Bennett before they report to the M.T.C, on October 12th.

As always, grandma prepared a delicious meal for us to enjoy. It was, as she called it, a pre-Thanksgiving, and Christmas meal before they leave. You see, grandma and grandpa have been called to serve in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It will be their first mission as  a couple missionary but their second one as individuals.

We enjoyed our time together and although we felt a bit of sadness that they will be gone soon, we are extremely proud of them for once again serving our Father in Heaven in the mission field. They are setting such a great example for their children but also for their 13 grandchildren.
It will be lying to say that we do not worry about this new adventure of theirs but we have faith that the Lord will bless them and keep them safe for the duration of their service. A year and a half to be exact.

Although they have had a few setbacks since they started this journey, we are quite certain that they will have a great time and will blessed the lives of the African people and in return their lives will be equally bless by those same people. I am truly looking forward to read about and look at pictures of the next 18 months of their lives through my mother in law's blog, deaR Congo!.

Beautiful autumn colors on our way to Lloyd! The colors were stunning!!!

Marc with his dad. Little M was cranky!

Blog title!

As you can see, I have changed the appearance of my blog again and its title.  Although I liked the old name, I decided to replace it with an english one since I mostly blog in this language.
My husband came up with the name and I obviously thought it was a good one. I think it is well fitted since I usually talk about what's happening in our home and what we do outside of it as a family.